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Mendocino Farms’ November Secret Sandwich is Beeftastic

If you work Downtown or on the west side you are probably well aware of how amazing Mendocino Farms is. What you may not be aware of is that every month they have a different off-the-menu “secret sandwich” that you only find out about if you sign up to receive their emails. I got on this train months ago, but there hasn’t been a special sandwich yet that sounded good enough to unseat my go to order: the pork belly banh mi. That is until this month…

I can’t honestly say I remember noticing the parsnip puree. Or the mushrooms. Or the fact that the onions may or may not have been cooked in balsamic vinegar. Each ingredient is used pretty sparingly. What I do remember is biting down into this sandwich and thinking “oh, yes. Definitely, yes.” So good. And while the jus makes the bread nice and soft on the inside, the bread isn’t dripping in it- so the structural integrity of the sandwich is maintained throughout. (Maybe it falls apart if it takes you awhile to eat the sandwich? But I wouldn’t know. This bad boy was gone within 5 minutes.)

Their October sandwich of the month, the PB3 (Housemade Peanut Butter with Caramelized Bananas, Crushed Honey Roasted Almonds, Green Apples and Applewood Smoked Bacon Panini Pressed on Ciabatta) was so popular they plan on adding it to the regular menu sometime this winter. I vote we make the same thing happen for the beef dip!

The plan was just to try the secret sandwich, but after spotting the “Three Little Piggies” on the list of Fall specials (MF swaps in a few seasonal sandwiches every 3 months) eating one sandwich was clearly going to be impossible. A combination of every pork sandwich they make, 3 Little Piggies features the Korobuta pork belly (from the banh mi), cider braised carnitas, and applewood smoked bacon. Add tangy-ness from the pickled onions, and a cool creaminess from the avocado to cut the richness of the meat, and you’ve got a big time winner. Some people might be turned off by the madness created by all three different porks in one sandwich, but I thought it worked really well.

Both sandwiches are kind of pricey ($9.75) but they represent everything I love about Mendocino Farms. Sure they have the typical things that make some of our co-workers feel safe (white meat chicken, vegan friendly proteins, the ability to turn any sandwich into a salad) but they don’t forget about us meat and flavor loving fatties either! The Beef dip is available through the end of this month (you just have to ask for the “secret sandwich”) the Three Little Piggies is available through December.

UPDATE: Our battle has already been lost. For some reason the “Sandwich of the Month” was only the “Sandwich For the First 3 Days of the Month”. Booooooooooooooooo!!!!!! They’ve replaced the Beef Dip w/ a Thanksgiving Meatloaf Sandwich: Turkey Meatloaf stuffed with Applewood Bacon and Dried Cranberry Stuffing, Cranberry and roasted Tomato Compote, Herb Aioli, and Shredded Romaine on Cranberry Walnut Bread. Oh, Mendocino Farms. I can’t stay mad at you…